COVID-19 and Sex Work

• Avoid positions with lots of face-to-face contact (ex. missionary position) in favor of positions that create some distance between yourself and your client (ex. doggy style).  
• Consider offering services with low face-to-face contact like erotic massage and strip-tease.  
• Use condoms (internal or external), dental dams, and gloves to avoid contact with bodily fluids.  

• Wash your hands regularly with plain soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds or use alcohol–based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content. Antibacterial soap is not required. 
• Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands, or share sex toys that have come in contact with someone else’s salvia. 
• Cough into your elbow or cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when you sneeze. Immediately dispose of all used tissues in an appropriate waste bin and wash your hands right away.  
• Do not share food, drinks, unwashed utensils, cigarettes, poppers, unwashed sex toys, straws, vaping devices, joints, pipes, or bongs.  
• Incorporate masks into play. Medical masks, pup play masks, or gimp masks may offer some protection; however, this is not guaranteed and levels of protection depends on the material and construction of the mask. Pay attention to eye, mouth, and nose holes that allow droplets to pass into the air. Consider your level of risk to your safety if your eyes are covered. 

• Wash your hands with plain soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content. Antibacterial soap is not required.  
• If facilities are available, take a shower. 
• Clean and disinfect anything that came in contact with you, client(s), scene partner(s), or anyone else who is sharing space with you. Bed sheets, mattresses, chairs, sex toys, lube bottles, clothing, harnesses, towels, bathroom sinks, door knobs, light switches, massage tables, nightstands, and fetish equipment and furniture are items you may have to consider cleaning 

• See the section below for detailed instructions on how to clean sex toys. 
• Wash and dry sheets and towels in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Use the warmest possible water settings. Dry all items thoroughly. 

COVID-19 can temporarily survive outside of the body, so objects that come in contact with salvia may transmit COVID-19. All sex toys should be sterilized before sharing. 

•  Clean and sterilize toys before and after use. 
• Sex toys can be sterilized by submerging them in boiling water* or by washing with plain soap in warm water. See the chart below to see which option is safe for your toy. You may also consult the manufacturer’s instructions for more detailed cleaning protocols. 

* There are no studies yet on COVID-19’s resistance to high temperatures; however, studies of SARS-CoV (another type of coronavirus) demonstrate that the virus becomes inactive at temperatures of 65°C or greater. You may wash with soap and boil your sex toys (if it is safe for your toy). 

• Rubber, “cyberskin” or “softskin,” and “jelly” toys are porous, which means they can trap bacteria and are unable to be completely sterilized.  
• Sex toys can be covered with a condom to reduce contact with the toy, but should always be cleaned and disinfected after the date. 
• Allow all toys to dry completely before being stored. 
• For furniture and household surfaces, cleaning products and disinfectants that are regularly used in households are strong enough to stop the spread of COVID-19. Follow product instructions for dilution, contact time and safe use here. 

As a result of COVID-19 many clinics and medical services have reduced their hours and in-person availability. If you are a sex worker in need of support while booking STI testing appointments, accessing PrEP, or other sexual health services, please contact HUSTLE Service Coordinators, Daniel (Greater Vancouver) and Jonathan (Greater Victoria). 

HUSTLE @ HIM (Greater Vancouver Area) 

• [email protected] 

HUSTLE @ Peers (Greater Victoria Area) 

• 236-638-3340 (call/text)  
• [email protected] 
•  

For up-to-date information on Health Initiative for Men’s Health Centre locations and STI testing services, please check out HIM’s COVID-19 response page 

Get Checked Online is an online service that allows you to print a lab form at home and to access STI testing at participating Life Lab locations.  

For STI testing resources in the Greater Victoria Area, please check out Smart Sex Resource.  

Online sex work comes with its own set of challenges and risks, including privacy concerns and doxing, and developing a new client-base on an unfamiliar platform.  

For how-to tips and online occupational health and safety, please check out COYOTE Ri’s harm reduction guide for sex workers. 

• Stay home if you have symptoms, have had contact with individuals who are confirmed cases of COVID-19, or have travelled within the last 14 days and do not engage in in-person sexual activities.  

• Wash your hands and face before and after a date, and after handling cash.  
• Consider web-based sessions (ex. video chat, phone sex, trading photos) instead of in-person sessions.  
• Tip generously   

For individualized support, please contact HUSTLE Service Coordinators. 

HUSTLE @ HIM (Greater Vancouver Area) 

• [email protected] 

HUSTLE @ Peers (Greater Victoria Area) 

• 236-638-3340 (call/text)  
• [email protected] 

The Corner Drop-In: Regular drop-in programming at the Corner has been suspended until further notice. The Corner remains open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 7-9pm for food pick-up and grocery nights only. For more information on the Corner, please contact Daniel at 604-369-9704 or [email protected]  

For safer sex (condoms, lube) and safer substance use (smoking, snorting, and IV kits) supplies pick-up in the Fraser Health Region, please contact Daniel at 604-369-9704. For supply pick-up in the Greater Victoria area, please contact Jonathan by text at 236-638-3340. Please include a list of supplies you need and when you need them.